In order to achieve President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s concept of ushering prosperity in the country, we can meet those needs ourselves without importing dairy products and animals.
The history of importing cattle to Sri Lanka dates back to the Second World War. The cattle were brought to supply meat for the consumption of foreign soldiers. Cattle brought from Cape Town, South Africa were called “Keppa” cattle. Following the end of the war, nearly 200 such animals were left at the Race Course in Nuwara Eliya and the troops left. Prime Minister Mahamanya D.S. Senanayake ordered the cattle not to be killed and sent them to Bopaththalawa and Ambewela. Kikuyu grass imported from Africa was planted in those lowlands and those places were started as animal farms.
In 1966, 700 Jersey heifers from New Zealand were brought to three units in Ambewela at once and quarantined. Subsequently, the farm was renamed as ‘New Zealand Farm’. At that time, I was working as the Deputy Manager of the Ambewela Farm after my first appointment. There I cooperated with Upali Jayasekara, Veterinary Research Officer (Former Chairman, NARA) in the animal quarantining process. The then Farm Manager was D.B. Samarakoon. In one day, those heifers gave birth to about 20–25 calves, all of which were called Jersey animals. How immoral is it to import animals that are not rightly bred and call them Jersey? There is not a single Jersey animal among them. The farms were handed over to businessman Harry Jayawardena by the Government in 2003. They are at present managed more formally and successfully.
At present, the animals on the farm are impregnated with artificial insemination by importing sperms known as ‘Sexed semen’ produced in laboratories in developed countries. Its speciality is that 100 percent of the offspring are females. A pregnant cow gives birth to a calf in 288 days. The cow can conceive again after 16–18 months. In the third breeding generation, 35–40 litres of milk can definitely be taken. All cows on the island with a fertile uterus must be fertilized by the sexed semen method.
Our incumbent President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is a great Head of State who used the military to combat the global health problem of Corona, which even the most powerful Heads of States in the world, could not do. In the same way, he can solve this national problem of milk cows. That is my belief. It is also a humble pride for me as an individual who has undergone military training. The officers who are entrusted with these insemination duties should be given an incentive after receiving each calf.
Despite such a system, 2,500 non-breed hybrid so-called Jersey animals from Australia were imported as part of a massive import order of 20,000. On farms in the dry zone such as Ridiyagama, they were detained, sprayed with water using electric fans and cooled. Certainly, it was a degradation of cattle farming. It was boasted that the animals would give 20 litres of milk a day but received only 8–10 litres a day. In addition, a large number of these animals have already died due to the presence of a deadly disease which is not found in Sri Lankan animals. But animals are brought to the island despite the objection of the farm officers.
The Government recently stopped the import of cars, spices and foodstuffs to save foreign exchange. Nevertheless, the money spent on importing these animals is more of a crime than the Central Bank robbery. The only thing that happened during the bank robbery was that they broke into the bank and took the money. Calculating the cost of importing these animals, the death of sick animals and damage caused to the local animals by the imported cows is a more serious crime than the notorious bank robbery.
No country in the world imports animals for breeding dairy cows. Sri Lanka can be self-sufficient in dairy cattle in about 4–5 years by importing sexed semen or producing the same locally in order to breed only female animals. Inevitably, 35–40 litres of milk can be obtained from one dairy cow in the third generation of the breed.
More dairy products can be produced and obtained from Thora/ Thorati and local buffaloes sooner and more successfully than in New Zealand or Australia. Those cows eat bitter food. They do not get ticks like cattle and do not die from tick fever because they have high immunity. In that perspective, Sri Lanka with buffaloes will beat New Zealand and Australia in terms of milk production. Also according to the topographical features of Sri Lanka, it can be divided into three main zones. These three regions have a natural environment where cattle of any country in the world can be raised.
The milk and dairy products currently sold in the market are known as A1 and A2. Milk obtained from local cattle is called A1. Dairy products imported from Europe, New Zealand and Australia are branded as A2. Medical researchers say that the use of A2 milk may increase the risk of diabetes, cancer and high blood pressure. Consumption for A1 products, including milk, is very suitable and healthy and we should use more of those dairy products.
Therefore, as a Government retired senior citizen with expertise in the subject, I request the authorities to stop the decision to import these animals and to increase the milk production by breeding local cattle.
(The writer is a retired agriculture officer who holds a Diploma in Animal Husbandry and Animal Health from the Sri Lanka College of Agriculture, Peradeniya. He has worked as the Manager of Ambewela, New Zealand, Bopaththalava, Ridiyagama, Polonnaruwa, Pelwehera and Bata-Atha Animal Farms. He is also an animal husbandry specialist who has earned a Degree in Animal Husbandry and Animal Health (specialized in Cattle Management) from International Faculty of Agriculture, Netherlands (1977-78).)
